School board approves name changes for schools named after Confederate generals

Wednesday

Feb 7, 2018 at 9:22 PMFeb 7, 2018 at 11:03 PM

In what has been a year of reckoning for representations of the old Confederacy, changes will be coming to Petersburg schools. The School Board voted to the change the names of the three elementary schools that are named after Confederate generals.

John Adam Staff Writer @JohnAdam_PI

PETERSBURG — Three of Petersburg's elementary schools will have new names come July.

In a unanimous decision during their meeting on Wednesday night, the School Board voted to change the names of the three elementary schools that are named after Confederate generals: Robert E. Lee Elementary, A.P. Hill Elementary, and J.E.B. Stuart Elementary.

The schools will now be named after the neighborhoods in which they reside. A.P. Hill will now be named Cool Springs Elementary, Robert E. Lee will be named Lakemont Elementary and J.E.B. Stuart will be named Pleasants Lane Elementary. Naming the schools after the community they are in was by far the most popular suggestion, according to the online survey that the School Board posted.

"When we're talking about how we support our schools, that's how they're supported, they are supported by communities," said School Board Vice Chairman Steven Pierce.

"All the names that they picked were the top names that the community chose," said Tony McDaniel. "What [the School Board] did was just approve what the community wanted, and that's how it's supposed to work."

McDaniel was vocal in his support for changing the names of the schools.

During a presentation to the board, Public Information Officer Leigh Ann McKelway went over the results of the online survey. Approximately 70 percent of the respondents were in favor of the name changes.

McKelway also noted that the school system had received $20,000 in donations to cover the cost of the name changes, with $700 more pledged. Most of that money came from Christina Murrey from Henrico, who saw that the School Board was thinking of changing the names and felt compelled to give. Several other donors, such as Petersburg native Dr. Kenneth Lewis, also gave money to help cover the cost of the change.

"I feel content about the decision, the name changes that were recommended were practical," said Lewis. "When a new school is built, that new school can be named after some significant human from Petersburg, but for now the important thing was to take the names down off the schools that were there."

The decision comes after almost two months of deliberations by the School Board over the issue, which included four public hearings where citizens could voice their opinion.

While many citizens were in support of the change, several voiced the sentiment that changing the names will not change the academic performance of the students. Petersburg schools have ranked near the bottom of the state for a number of years in most standardized tests. Currently, none of the schools are fully accredited.

The thought expressed by many citizens seemed to be that the name changes were long overdue.

"I feel great about it, it's a long time coming," said McDaniel. "We've been pressuring the School Board and the City Council to get involved, and I'm glad they did what the community wanted."

The schools were named for the generals when they were built in the early 1900s. All three of the schools were white-only at the time, with black children being sent to Virginia Avenue Elementary, Blandford Elementary, Giles Buckner Cook Elementary or Henry Williams Elementary. The demographics of the city were also much different than they are now. Census figures from 1910 show that about 45 percent of the population in Petersburg was African American; today, the city is around 79 percent African American.

During the public hearings, many citizens expressed the thought that given how much the city has changed since the schools were named, the generals no longer represent what the city stands for.

The new names will officially take effect on July 1.

•John Adam may be reached at jadam@progress-index.com or 804-722-5172.

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